West Region Coach of the Year, John Tauer and Rookie of the Year, Anders Nelson, fist bump in celebration during a playoff game. (TommieMedia File Photo)
Three talented individuals won major West Region honors this season representing St. Thomas basketball.
Men’s basketball coach John Tauer was awarded Coach of the Year, freshman stand-out Anders Nelson received Rookie of the Year and senior All-American Hannah Spaulding won Player of the Year.
The three were recognized as the best in their category out of 48 West Region institutions in Division III.
“It tells everyone about our commitment to excellence here at UST. Our motto this year was pursuit of excellence and we continue, like our men’s team, to always strive to be competitive and successful,” Spaulding said.
As his third West Region Coach of the Year Award, Tauer is appreciative of this recognition, but said it’s certainly not the reason he coaches.
“I think my mom gets more excited about it then I do,” Tauer said. “It’s always nice to be recognized by your peers, whether it’s coaches in your conference or around the region, but any award is just a function of our team having success and our program being respected.”
There were a fair amount of unknowns coming into the 2018-2019 season. Tauer’s team was ranked fourth in the conference and unranked nationally.
That didn’t last long.
The men’s basketball team went on a 21 game win-streak mid season, was ranked as high as No. 5 nationally, secured the MIAC title and beat the No.1 ranked team in the country.
They ended their season with a trip to the Sweet 16 and finished with a 24-5 record.
With a few bumps in the road and some growing pains, Tauer saw his group of guys grow quickly together to establish their identity.
“They were committed to each other and their trust in themselves and in the program didn’t waver,” Tauer said. “I thought they were a very steady and consistent group given that it wasn’t our most experienced team.”
However, the team’s three senior veterans were experienced and knew what it was going to take to be good.
Connor Bair, GT Johnson and Michael Hannon all welcomed in freshman point guard, Anders Nelson. 
West Region and National Rookie of the Year, Anders Nelson, goes up for a shot in a game against Bethel. (TommieMedia File Photo)
Nelson had nothing short of an incredible first season as a Tommie. He led the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
“It would be easy for seniors to be a little envious thinking ‘Why does this freshman point guard get to do so much?’” Tauer said. “I think Connor, GT and Michael are such good leaders and all understood that Anders made us a lot better.”
As if West Region Rookie of the Year wasn’t an accomplishment in itself, Nelson was also named National Rookie of the Year.
“It’s definitely sweet, but there is definitely more I want to accomplish,” Nelson said. “There’s a lot more that I want to prove to everybody else. The guys that I have around me, and myself included… we’re going to put in the work and be able to show everybody what we want to do.”
Nelson will go down as the first MIAC player to ever win National Rookie of the Year.
“I don’t see every freshman in the country, but we are certainly thrilled he’s on our side,” Tauer said. “He is certainly deserving and a joy to coach.”
It doesn’t matter what individual recognition he has received, at the end of the day, Nelson is a team oriented guy.
“I couldn’t be more happy with my decision to come here and I’m so fortunate to be able to play with the guys I do,” Nelson said.
Nelson is also appreciative of the coaching staff, especially head coach Tauer who also shared in winning awards this season.
“Coach Tauer’s a competitor and a natural born leader,” Nelson said. “He does a lot of great things for us, the rest of the coaches, and the rest of the school. It’s not much of a surprise to me to see him win that award.” 
West Region Player of the Year and All-American, Hannah Spaulding, gets double teamed during the Tommie’s playoff game against Amherst. (TommieMedia File Photo)
For women’s basketball, Spaulding was announced as the West Region Player of the Year and most recently named to the 10-player Division III Women’s Basketball All-America team.
In her time as a Tommie, Spaulding was named MIAC Player of the Year twice and is a two-time All-America honoree.
“It’s a great recognition which I am honored to receive and a great way to end senior year, but I couldn’t have been as successful without my awesome teammates and coaches,” Spaulding said.
The women’s basketball team finished their season 30-2 and closed at No. 3 in the final WBCA poll for the 2018-2019 season.
Spaulding was happy to end her senior season with a trip to the Final Four.
She finished her career with 1,394 points and converted 68.6 percent of her field goals. This field-goal percentage broke a 26-year-old MIAC record, placing her at third in Division III history.
Despite all of the statistics and awards she has received, one of the things she is most proud of is her balance between athletics and academics.
“Our team really prides ourselves on how both our time here in school and playing basketball is going to prepare us for the rest of our lives,” Spaulding said.
Although the basketball chapter of her life has come to a close, Spaulding is excited for the next one. She will be moving out to Portland, Oregon in the fall to start chiropractic school.
The three major West Region awards between the men’s and women’s basketball programs are truly a testament to the school.
It comes down to the broad based excellence of St. Thomas athletics.
“It really is a dynamic environment where excellence is the expectation and collaboration is the norm,” Tauer said. “When you have those two things, I think that perpetuates that culture of success.”
Carly Noble can be reached at nobl1781@stthomas.edu.